They Just Assumed
by 666Cliche
Summary: Harry was there for my fifth year. He never spoke a word to me; I think he believes I betrayed him. Brother-of-BWL


**Author's Notes:** Harry should be evil. He's more interesting that way.

If you haven't guessed it yet, this isn't one of those fluffy friendship stories. It isn't quite enough to be horror by my books, but it certainly doesn't have a happy ending.

**Summary:** Harry was there for my fifth year. He never spoke a word to me; I think he believes I betrayed him. (Brother-of-BWL)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. I doubt any of JK's lawyers care anyway, but, hey, everyone else is doing it.

* * *

**They Just Assumed**

Hi, I'm Edric; Edric Potter. You probably know me as the Boy-Who-Lived or, if you follow the news, the brother of that boy. Nobody cared about it before, so I don't think many people actually know it. I'll tell you—his name is Harry Potter.

He's the real Boy-Who-Lived, you know, but everybody thought that was me. You see, mum and dad weren't home when Voldemort attacked, so nobody actually knew the truth; they just assumed. Then they assumed, and assumed, and assumed some more.

I'm not sure when it all began going downhill, but I know it all happened quite early. Harry looked almost identical to Tom Riddle, he was found hissing to a snake, and he stayed away from people to finish his homework, therefore he was evil and dark. I tried out for Quidditch despite never making the team, I had a pure white owl named Hedwig, and I accidentally forgot to complete more than half of the essays I was assigned, therefore I was kind and good.

It wasn't smart, but, like I said, people assumed. The press went into a frenzy at one point, publishing things about how the savior had a future Dark Lord for a brother. Harry never had many friends in Gryffindor to begin with, so that got to him.

In our second year there was a Basilisk, and everybody suspected him. Even after Harry rescued Ginny and killed the snake, everybody still thought it was him. A huge fuss was made over this, and that prompted a trial during the summer. At the beginning of third year, Harry was sent to Azkaban.

For the record, I never suspected him—not even for a moment. I'm his twin, you know, we grew up together. Even if we never joked or finished each other's sentences like Fred and George, I'd still like to think we had some sort of a bond.

But, anyway, Harry was sent to Azkaban. He was the youngest to be sent there and the first to escape. I was the one he came to, I helped him hide, but Ron found out and told Dumbledore. Dumbledore called the Aurors.

Hermione Granger, who was the only person he could actually call a friend, tried to help Harry escape. She was killed by the Aurors right in front of his eyes. That was the point of no return.

Harry was dragged back to Azkaban—maximum security—when our fourth year started.

I was entered into the TriWizard Tournament, and nobody bothered to correct that mistake. After all, why shouldn't kind, wonderful Edric Potter get a chance at winning the cup? The judges dropped hints all over the place, so I had no problem getting a head start in the maze.

Cedric and I were the first ones to reach the cup, you know. We decided to hold it up together—a glorious Hogwarts victory. It didn't happen that way; the cup was a Portkey and sent us to the graveyard. Voldemort was there, so was a chubby, quivering man. That was where I learned the truth; Voldemort claimed that he couldn't have the real Boy-Who-Lived, so I was the next best thing.

If I didn't escape that alive, I wouldn't be here right now. I went back and told mum and dad, who told Dumbledore, who paled and immediately withdrew Harry from Azkaban. I still wonder; if he had that much influence, why didn't he do it before?

Harry was there for my fifth year. He was thinner and frailer and colder, but he was alright. He never spoke a word to me; I think he believes I betrayed him.

Harry was really out of it that year. He ignored Umbridge (our then Defense teacher), who tried to make his life miserable as if it was his fault he got wrongly sent to Azkaban which, in turn, got Fudge voted out of office At the end of my fifth year, he disappeared on the Hogwarts Express.

At the beginning of my sixth year, completely certain of Harry's death, Dumbledore forced the mantle of Boy-Who-Lived upon me. He told me about the prophecy and about the Horcruxes. At the end of the year, we went to retrieve one—a locket in a pool of poison that had already been claimed by RAB.

Dumbledore thought himself invincible after the last Horcrux; he was the one who drank the poison. I got us back into Hogwarts and he insisted on seeing Snape. I'm sure he's already cold by now.

Harry is alive, you see. He's standing right in front of me, talking in that quiet voice of his. Voldemort had communicated to him in his fifth year through visions, he explained, and he joined Voldemort. Then Harry killed him.

That gave me an inkling of what happened, and I must say I'm terrified. Not for myself—I wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing—but for Harry; for his future.

Harry paused and thought for a moment, then, almost like an afterthought, he added mum and dad, too, and just recently, Dumbledore.

That was his list; the list of enemies he's killed. I know what name comes next, too. It's obvious.

My look of terror wasn't for myself—it was for him.

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Random things I felt like explaining:

Dumbledore is evil; evil and arrogant.

This story is from Harry's brother's perspective, so it is a bit limited as to what was said.

Harry is in Gryffindor because, at that point, he wasn't evil and craved the acceptance of his parents—just like all other children.

He obviously didn't duel Voldemort and win; more like stabbed him in the back, really.

Harry's brother is probably the most innocent one in all this, although I can't see Lily and James as evil, either. Just misguided, perhaps.

Edric got all of the lighter traits of Canon!Harry while Harry himself got the darker ones.

This sounds a bit lighthearted because I wanted something that went progressively darker, instead of just beginning dark and terrifying. Yeahh…

I could perfectly well flesh this out into a six-year-and-a-bit long series, but, honestly, how many of those have been completed?

Constructive critisim would be nice. Suggestions on changes to genre/title would be welcome, too; I wasn't quite sure what to put down for those two.


End file.
